Hi-tech bike faces roadblock, designer asked to remove flaws

Mira Road-based Gabriel Zuzarte, who has been modifying automobiles for the past six months, kitted a 350 cc Royal Enfield Classic with front and rear cameras, a laptop and printer, GPS and first aid box. Zuzarte said that he had worked on his pet project for two years, after obtaining an NOC from the Regional Transport Office and undergoing several budget hiccups.

The prototype, first presented to the police in earlier this month, aims to be the first patrol bike in the country, modelled on specialised bikes used by police forces across the world. “In India, we do not have an iconic, designated bike for patrolling. I want my bike to be that,” he said.

However, police personnel who tested the bike found it to be very unwieldy. “The bike vibrates a lot in the rear and my men could not ride it without falling. We then asked Zuzarte to eliminate the vibration and make the bike roadworthy,” said Atul Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Motor Transport Department.

The first prototype had a bulky box in the rear containing the laptop and printer, in addition to the bike’s battery and the first aid box. Patil said the modifications had added 20 kilos to the vehicle’s weight.

Having worked to reduce the weight at the rear, Zuzarte is confident his improved prototype would pass its next test.
“There were bound to be errors in the prototype, and I now know what the drawbacks are. But I had not expected that the rear box would gain so much weight. In the first design, I had placed the battery at the rear. I have restored it to its original position. The first aid box has also been placed the first aid box back in the dickey. The weight has noe come down by eight kilos,” he said.

Once the Mumbai Police clears his design, Zuzarte hopes to roll out the bike nationally. “Evenatually, we want each state police force to have a hundred such bikes. I am confident that the new government will approve of my designs.

srinath.rao@expressindia.com